HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Kelvin Cato and Cuttino Mobley each scored
20 points off the bench as the Houston Rockets used a big fourth
quarter and pulled away for a 105-89 victory over the Washington
Wizards.

Cato made 8-of-14 shots from the floor and grabbed 12 rebounds,
while Mobley was 11-of-12 from the line. Houston's substitutes
outscored Washington's bench, 57-34, and the Rockets turned of
14 turnovers into 22 points.

"We played defensive basketball tonight," said Cato. "I think I
was stealing shots tonight. It'll be nice to see them again on
Sunday, it should be a physical game."

Rookie Steve Francis had 16 points and 11 assists and Matt
Bullard scored a season-high 16 points for the Rockets, who have
won the last six home meetings with the Wizards. Houston had
averaged 16.5 points in the fourth quarter over the previous
four games but outscored Washington, 29-17, in the final period
tonight.

"We can just stop talking about the fourth quarter, that should
help out our mentality," Mobley said.

"There wasn't a strong defensive mentality on our part out
there," said Washington coach Gar Heard. "We scored easily
early and maybe we got a little too confident. We had a lot of
mismatches but we couldn't capitalize on them. Our energy wasn't
as high as it was the last few games."

Aaron Williams, who had nine points, made a layup to pull the
Wizards within 80-76 with 9:17 remaining. Francis answered with
a 3-pointer to ignite a 13-2 run. Six different players scored
during the burst that Cato capped with a layup for a 93-78 lead
with 4:50 to play.

Houston, which made 8-of-16 shots from behind the arc, went
ahead for good, 65-62, when Bullard made a 3-pointer from the
left side with 5:31 left in the third period.

Rod Strickland, who was only 3-of-10 from the field, hit two
free throws to cut the deficit to 65-64 with 5:20 to go. Francis
answered with a short jumper and, after Howard made a 17-footer,
Cato dunked to give Houston a 69-63 advantage with 3:21 left in
the quarter.

"We came out unselfish and played good basketball," Mobley said.
"We kept Howard and Richmond in check for the most part and that
was a big part of our game plan."

Bullard scored the Rockets' first 10 points, with his 20-footer
cutting Washington's lead to 13-10 with 8:24 left in the first.
He made 4-of-5 shots in the opening period, helping the Rockets
build a 25-21 lead.